The National Aquarium’s Guest Diver Program rocks, just ask the members of Animal Collective

Fish, coral, and other marine life are abundant at the National Aquarium, Baltimore, but psych-rockers…that’s something we don’t see everyday at the Aquarium!

Brian Weitz of the band Animal Collective explores the Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit at the National Aquarium, Baltimore through our Guest Diver Program.

Geologist (Brian Weitz) and Deakin (Josh Dibbs), members of the band Animal Collective, recently came to the Aquarium via our Guest Diver Program. As Maryland natives, the members of Animal Collective grew up coming to the Aquarium—a couple of the band’s members even had their high school prom here in the mid-1990s!

Geologist and Deakin are both seasoned scuba divers and jumped at the chance to experience the Aquarium from the other side of the glass.

Unfortunately, Deakin, while able to attend, was unable to dive, making Geologist’s dive a solo act. Watch a video of his dive:

We’d been trying to synchronize schedules with the band for a diving session for well over a year now&emdash;ever since we’d heard their 2009 masterpiece Merriweather Post Pavilion, named after the Frank Gehry-designed concert venue just down the road in Columbia, MD.

Geologist is not only an Aquarium enthusiast, but also an advocate for protecting our waterways. He spent years working on the Hill in Washington, D.C., doing ocean policy work, and the band recently collaborated with Keep to design a line of aquatic-themed shoes with all proceeds going to the Socorro Island Conservation Fund.